This is not a how-to. This is a lesson I learned as I grew up.
I lived in a household where 10-year-old mistakes are brought up everytime there’s an argument. It never ends. My mother kept on bringing up the past – why? Because according to her, she may forgive but she never forgets. She also makes sure that you never...

“Choc-lit!” When I asked what was her skin color, that’s what she said.
I need to practise on skin tones. Yes, skin tones. I don’t think I succeeded in creating a “choc-lit” skin tone. She was so dark that you can’t see her at night, unless she smiled. She is lovely [and my boss’ gf too]. I might try to paint her...

Perhaps it was after my father’s death this May that I came to cherish each moment I have with my family. I have become a bit sensitive to my own memories such that when I was having a quiet dinner with my son -‘Just hanging around and having a pizza dinner’, that I found myself having a nostalgic moment. A young couple...

My mother is 1/4 Spanish. It shows. Although she didn’t inherit the gray eyes and height, she got the wide hips, which she passed on to me. 🙂 My mother’s petite for her height and weight – she stands 4 ft 11 inches [although she will adamantly say that she’s 5 feet and I’m 5’3″] and weighs 120lbs. Yes constantly complains...

My friend posted this pic of her and her dad on facebook. She missed her dad terribly. One look at the pic and you could see why. There’s a loving bond between a daughter and her father and it the photo reflected it in their eyes.
I hoped to capture that moment. Yes, this is a practice portrait.

I wanted to try doing another portrait of Charlie, this time with his wife. This was actually the portrait I painted after my 2-week hiatus [from painting animation background]. It felt like I’m re-learning the craft. 🙂

I’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time. I wish he was still around to see this because I know he loved paintings. Yes Mr. V, I know you’re still watching over your family and their friends. Am still glad I had the chance to get to know you in this lifetime.
This is one of a series. I feel I need to do an...

These are Sabrina’s doggies. One is really photogenic and the other one’s weird. He’s weird because I’ve never seen a red dog with yellow, glowing eyes before. Yes, they’re yellow and according to the owner, they glow like a cat’s.

This is a watercolor portrait of my brother. It’s not one of the best I’ve made but it shows me how much I’ve improved in the past 3 months. Yes, three months ago I started this 100 Portraits projects. I decided to try and paint my brother again after three months.
This is what I painted three months ago.
That was...

Amado and I were talking about watercolor techniques. There’s one that was so light that it leaves the barest hint of color. I was lucky to find a photo to try it out.
If I painted watercolor this way, a single box of 5ml tubes would last me a year. Yes, a normal tube of artist grade watercolor is just 5ml. Imagine my...

It’s been 20 years since I last did anything for animation. AVPs, OBBs and training presentations do not count. I’m talking about animation that tells stories. The kind that starts as a nagging dream in one’s mind. This idea was born from somebody else’s dream. I’m just helping him make it happen.
Before, animation...

Last night I was alone and talking to myself [mentally] on my balcony. I was trying to do experiments on coloring and I think, I failed miserably. Feeling bad about it, I took a break.
I told myself, “I just don’t want to be a regular portrait artist. I want to be one of the best. I don’t see a lot of really good...

This is another ‘test’ between Amado and I. The challenge was how to paint the dress and her hair.
This is my version:
This is Amado’s version. I love how he did the dress, the hair and the shadows.
With this one, I had problems doing the hair. I guess it is something I have to learn. I will check out youtube for...

She was my first boss.
I was in college and a friend told me that her mom was looking for an artist to illustrate a few materials. That’s how it started. Her office became my home away from home. These were the lessons I learned when I worked for her for 3 years:
Just because you are an artist doesn’t mean you...